The nature of ladders provides great chance of injury as a result of the heights they enable their users to reach. Ongoing changes in legislation seek to make the use of ladders ever safer. With this goal in mind, proposals exist to make the use of stabilisers mandatory. Such stabilisers widen the footprint of the ladder to increase their resistance to tipping sideways. The suggested width of the stabilisers being a function of the maximum height of the ladder.
Previous stabilisers are in the form of a laterally extending bar secured to the base or foot of the ladder. The ends of the bar having feet for engagaing the ground either instead of or in addition to the feet of the ladder at the bottom of the stiles. While these serve the purpose of providing stability, they are bulky and cumbersome when transporting the ladder. The solution to this is to make the stabiliser readily removable resulting on additional time required to set up the ladder and also the option of some users choosing not to utilise a stabiliser which can result in legal action against an employer in the event of an accident.